


Daemons and Espers, oh my!

by RinaRinaXD



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artorius is a big brother, Eizen is an Esper, F/M, Halloween Special, Laphicet is a bad boy, M/M, Soft Gay Boys, Twins, Zaveid is an Esper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 17:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21103328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinaRinaXD/pseuds/RinaRinaXD
Summary: Eizen and Zaveid are ghost hunters in a world where magic is explained via science. Together they exorcise troublesome spirits from people's homes, but when the Leader of the Abbey, Arthur Collebrande, invites them to help exorcise a troublesome Spirit who is calling herself the Lord of Calamity, will they help the very leader of the organization hell-bent on ensuring all Espers are locked up, or will they leave him and the world to be devoured by a very angry spirit? A Tales of Berseria Halloween special.





	1. Exordium

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm uploading a 3 part (not including the prologue and epilogue) Halloween special for Tales of Berseria.  
Just a little heads up, in this world, Laphicet Crowe and Inominat are 12 y/o Twins, Maotelus is their 10 y/o younger brother, and Velvet is their 19 y/o sister. Artorius of course is their Brother in law, who is looking after them as their legal guardian.

There are many wonderful things in the world. Things like magic, made possible through the marriage of science and nature. Or Espers, people who have the ability to manipulate nature through the usage of specialized nanotechnology called Mana. 

Eizen, one such Esper dozed on the couch while waiting for his partner, and long time lover Zaveid to come back into their living room. The house they were renting was lovely, with soothing blue walls and perfectly matching white trim.

Zaveid stuck his head in the room and sneered, taking in the appearance of his rugged boyfriend and partner. Eizen was sprawled out on a too small couch, one leg draped over the back of the couch and the other drooping off the edge. His suit was ruffled and lift up enough to expose the perfect set of abs. His blonde hair, usually well kept, now ruffled into a silly looking tangled nest on his head. 

Zaveid couldn't help himself. He dove onto the couch to give those pale abs a good lick. Eizen's eyes opened instantly, and he flipped Zaveid over on the couch, pinning his tanned hands over his head. 

"We hunt ghosts for a living. You think I wouldn't feel your eyes on me, undressing me like some kind of sex doll?" Eizen growled playfully. 

"Someone's a little grumpy this morning." Zaveid teased. "We got a job. Downtown Loegras. The client wants to meet us at the Butterfly tavern"

"A job? Let's go!" Eizen said, scrambling to get up. He fixed his clothes to look more presentable, and ran a finger through his hair. He gave a growl of displeasure at his hair, which never seemed to cooperate. While Zaveid was comfortable with both his white button up and his jacket being unbuttoned and wide open, exposing his tanned skin and greenish silver whispy markings that exposed him as a wind Esper, Eizen always kept his markings well hidden. Several geometric pebble shapes on his hip, as well as up in his arms in double helixed patterns, the marking of an Earth Esper. Eizen stared at his lover and sighed. It wasn't in the nature of a wind Esper to wear much clothing to start with, seeing as they usually preferred to be as lightweight as possible. Zaveid laughed at his boyfriend's unruly hair and waved his hand, the markings on his body glowing for a moment. 

A light breeze filled the room, and Eizen's hair seemed to detangle itsself and settle on his head. "You're not supposed to use Mana on such simple things, I could have used a brush." He said with an eyeroll. 

"Yeah but I just saved us a solid 20 minutes. Come on pretty boy let's go!" Zaveid responded, smacking Eizen's ass as he rolled off the couch. "So ungrateful" he teased when Eizen didn't respond. He gave Eizen a peck on the lips before grabbing his hat and walking out of the door and onto the streets of the lovely town known as Zekson, which was once used as a trading route. Now it was more of a tourist destination, though the seas made it popular for cruises to land. 

Within 2 days, they had made it to Loegras, just in time for their meeting. They made their way into the butterfly tavern and over to the bar, where Eizen ordered a shot of whiskey and Zaveid got a beer. 

"Zaveid?" An unknown voice asked. The wind Esper turned to see a hooded figure. "You're on time. Follow me to the back." He said. 

Zaveid dropped two fivers for their drinks and trailed behind the hooded figure into a meeting room in the back. 

"Why all the secrecy?" Eizen asked warily, one hand on his hip, where he kept his gun hidden. 

"Because if anyone saw me associating with Espers, my entire platform would fall apart." Spoke the hooded figure. "But I am desperate, and I need help." He said, pulling back his hood to reveal none other than the Blond Haired, Blue-eyed Arthur Collebrande, leader of the Abbey. 

"Well, well, you must be desperate to hire on a group like us. So," Zaveid said, sliding into a chair and kicking his feet up onto the table. "How can we be of service?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short prologue! Next chapter soon!


	2. Great Poobah of Calamity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eizen and Zaveid get settled in the mansion and meet the inhabitants. It's obvious Artorius is hiding something.

Eizen’s eyebrows raised as he listened to Artorius complain.

“There’s a malicious spirit in my home.” The Shepherd said, his stern face set into a near permanent frown. “She calls herself The Lord of Calamity, and spends her time doing absurd things. She set all my furniture on the roof of my house. Do you know how much time it takes to get all that down from up there?” He asked the two Espers.

“Okay, well why don’t you just, I don’t know, zap her with your religious church powers? You know, a little ‘power of Amenoch compels you’ and all of that?” Zaveid asked, miming a high priest, dousing holy water on a spirit. That got him an eyeroll from the leader of the church.

“I would use Holy mana, but I..” He faltered for a moment before he steeled himself. “I cannot use Mana.” He frowned as both Espers’ eyebrows shot straight up. “What? Its more common than you think.”

Eizen shrugged his shoulders and stood up, reaching a hand out. “It’s 10,000 gald up front, and 30,000 on completion and eradication of the spirit. We’ll need unlimited access to your-“ He struggled to use the word home, seeing as how it was more of a mansion than a house, “your home. In and out, we want a list of everyone. If this is a spirit pulling pranks, we’ll find her. If it’s a human, we’ll flush them out.”

“There’s something else you should know.” Artorius said, watching Eizen. “My younger twin brothers will be there, and they’ll probably cause trouble, but do try and keep them safe, please?” He stood up, and shook Eizen’s hand. “Keep this hush-hush and you’ve got a deal.”

~

“So, do you think he’s going to pay us using tax money?” Zaveid asked laughing when Eizen smacked him as they drove along the busy streets of the noble’s district in Loegras. Almost like a bad cliché, they had to drive down a long driveway, stopped by a gate. A guard tapped their window and motioned for them to roll it down. The bald man stood at average height, wearing a white and gold trimmed suit with sunglasses that kept his opponents from seeing which way his eyes were facing; a common tactic amongst fighters.

“State your name and purpose.” He said, suspiciously eyeing the Espers.

“Eizen Earthtreader and Zaveid Whirlwind. Shepherd Artorius is expecting us. We’re his brother’s babysitters.” Eizen responded, using the cover that they had predetermined. Seemed the all mighty lord didn’t want anyone to know he was one of the few in the church who didn’t have Holy implants and therefore, couldn’t take care of his own ghost problem.

“Thank the gods. Those boys are great, but they can be a lot of trouble. They haven’t been the same since what happened 3 years ago.” The guard said, shaking his head slowly.

“Uhm, what happened 3 years ago?” Zaveid asked. The guard closed his mouth tightly, a sign that he had said too much.

“Go on through. The Valet will take your vehicle at the front.” The guard waved them through, the large white Mythril gate opening.

Eizen drove them up the long driveway to the front where he turned in and set the car in park. The valet came and took his keys. “Be careful,” Eizen said with a frown. “That’s the latest VanEltia. Finest in her class.” The blonde haired, gaptoothed valet looked like he could cry with joy.

“You can bet on my last honor, my good sir that I will take great care of her!” The boy said, smiling excitedly. “Yo Dyle! Check it out! The VanEltia 3067. Able to boost to 80kph in less than sixty with a cool smooth sound that leaves it whisper quiet. Fastest in her class, and built to withstand the attack from 15 different Espers at a time.”

“You have a good eye for vehicles. What’s your name kid?” Eizen asked.

“Benwick, sir. My name is Benwick” the boy responded.

“Take care of my car or I’ll kill you.” Eizen said matter of factly. The boy squealed with fear and nodded.

“He really will too.” Zaveid said, finally climbing up the large, overly grande staircase to get to the front doors. “Sweet Hyanoa, does this guy like a grand appearance or what? How many steps are there? 100? 500?” He complained.

“15. There are 15 steps made of Marble.” Eizen responded, crossing his arms.

“This is why I like you. So smart, so sexy.” Zaveid cooed as he skipped up the steps. The doorman opened the door for them, and waved them on in.

“Your things are already in their rooms, sirs.” The doorman said. “The head maid will be with you shortly, feel free to relax on the room directly to your left. There are refreshments waiting for you.”

Zaveid whistled and sauntered in to the room, letting out another whistle as the smell of delicious pastries assailed his nose. He plopped onto a couch and lounged back, kicking his feet up. “Don’t mind if I do” He said as a maid offered him a plate full of mini pastries.

“Zaveid. Feet off the table. We’re not animals.” Eizen said, sitting next to his partner, and taking a pastry of his own.

“Alright, alright, alright. Stiff old man.” Zaveid teased, before shoveling the sugar covered sweets into his mouth.

“My apologies for the wait,” A dainty female voice spoke as she entered the room. Eizen turned to gaze on the read headed female in a head maid’s uniform. Her blue-green eyes were filled with kindness, though something lurked underneathe. “My name is Eleanoir Hume, Head Maid of the Mansion. I’ve been informed you are here to help us with our pest problem.” She said after a minute.

“Pleased to meet you, but, where’s Artorius?”

“the Lord Shepherd is busy at the moment. I will show you to your rooms.”

“Just one is needed.” Eizen said, with a wave of his hand. He couldn’t help but notice her eyeing his boyfriend, and a flash of jealousy crossed him. She stopped to look at him, an eyebrow raising. As if in response, he pulled Zaveid to him, and while looking and maintaining eyecontact with the servant, placed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Oh, my apologies. I’ll have the servants rectify that immediately.” She said, calling over a blonde-haired servant. “Please, take Mr. Zaveid’s things and move them into Mr. Eizen’s room.”

Zaveid let out a mischievous chuckle and pinched Eizen’s butt.

~

Eizen stood in his room, the grand bedroom far more elegant than anything he’d ever used before, buttoning up his shirt. He felt a set of eyes on him, and he turned quickly to look at the door which was cracked open. He opened it up and was met by the curious gaze of a blonde-haired, blue eyed boy.

“Can I help you?” He asked the child.

“Hello, My name is Laphicet. I’m Artorius’ brother.” He said, holding his hand out.

“Laph.” Came a voice, very similar to the boys’ from around the corner. An extremely similar boy followed shortly, wearing an all white school uniform. “Arthur says not to bother the Espers while they work.”

“Inominat! Inominat! Meet the espers!” Laphicet exclaimed. His twin came to stand in the doorway, eyes narrowed on the espers as he put his hands on his hips.

“Arthur says you guys are here to get rid of the ghost. Is that right?” Inominat asked, eyeing them. “Became from where I stand, it looks like you guys are trying to have a vacation at our expense.”

“I promise. After we’re done, that ghost will be calling herself the great “poobah” of calamity!” Zaveid vowed to the kid.

“Whatever. She’s annoying, in life and in death.” The boy said. Almost instantly, he covered his mouth and shook his head.

“You know who she is?” Eizen asked, crossing his arms.

“Arthur says we can’t talk about her.” Laphicet informed the men before he turned and tugged his twin away. “Sorry! Bye!”

“Huh, that was weird.” Zaveid commented. “So, what do you think?”

“I think there’s something about our ghost friend that Artorius isn’t telling us. And those two boys know.” Eizen responded with a frown.

“Yeah I got that vibe too. So what are we gunna do?”

~

Dinner was tense, and boring, the only real sound being the clinking of spoons against bowls as they ate their stew.

Between the time they arrived and dinner time, the spirit herself had yet to show up, but she did make her displeasure of the Espers known. Eizen’s things were strewn about the room, and Zaveid’s pendulum kept swinging to the left, regardless if he was using it or not. They, at one point, walked into the room to find that the bed had been flipped perfectly upside down, and even the sheets were still attached to the bed, defying gravity.

“So, have you found a way to be rid of our pest?” Artorius asked, bringing Eizen back to the present.

“Nothing yet, we’ll have to wait for her to make an appearance. Then we’ll be able to make an assessment.” Eizen responded, setting his spoon down. The more curious of the twins -Laphicet- avoided Eizen’s eyes. So the boy was hiding something indeed.

After they ate, they relaxed in the parlor, Laphicet played on his laptop, while Inominat played piano. It was just the four of them, Artorius nowhere to be found. Eizen waited to make sure and then went over to the floor where Laphicet was sitting.

“Tonight, we’ll try to draw her in. Before we do, you must tell me if you know anything. I won’t tell Artorius you told me.” Eizen said. Laphicet hesitated, and then sat up.

“The ghost haunting us, it’s my big sister.” He said quietly.

“Your brother’s wife?” He asked, referring to the deceased eldest sister, Celica.

“No, our sister Velvet. I missed her terribly, so I convinced Inomi to do a Ouija board with me to bring her to talk. I just wanted to say how much I missed her!” Laphicet explained in a panic, “But when she came back, she was really really mad. She keeps saying she’ll kill our big brother. Something about revenge.” He nodded to himself.

“Did she die here?” Eizen asked, sitting next to Laphicet.

“yeah, she got sick, and ended up hurting herself. She kept complaining about how badly her arm hurt and would scratch at the bandages. One day, she got really angry, and really violent, and she tried to bite me. Arthur took her to her room, and she passed out. After she fell asleep, she just… She never woke up.” Laphicet responded, his eyes glittering with tears. “I’m so sorry, I just wanted to talk to her. I miss her so much.”

“It’s okay, but don’t do dangerous things like that. She could have been something far worse.” Eizen said, patting the kid’s head. “now, how do we draw her out…” he rubbed his chin before an idea came to mind. 

"Babe? What are you thinking in that sexy brain?" Zaveid asked, smirking. 

"We use the kids. They drew her out. They can draw her out again. So tonight. We play with a Ouija board." Eizen responded. 

~

Eizen sat between the twins, and Zaveid sat between them on the other side, forming a square as Eizen set up the Ouija board. The head maid, Eleanoir, sat to the side with a paper and pen, ready to write what letters came out. 

"Lord of Calamity, I summon you. Come forth." They chanted in unison. The board began to move violently, shaking as the planchette moved around the board. 

"R-E-A-L-L-Y" 

"What do you want, lord of calamity?" Eizen asked. 

"F-u-c-k o-f-f E-s-p-e-r"

"Okay, rude. Come on out. We won't hurt you, we just want to talk. Please, Velvet, they can help us!" Laphicet said. Inominat hissed at his brother. 

"Shut up!" Inominat growled. 

From nowhere, a raven haired teen appeared infront of them. 

"Help? How can they help?!" She said, before she turned to disappear. The head maid shrieked and ran from the room, scared of the menacing female apparition. 

Before she could, Eizen got up and ran towards her. He cornered the raven haired spirit, crystals made of quartz wrapped around his fists. He leaned forward menacingly, his eyes narrowing.

  
"Okay little lord of calamity. Time to move on, or disappear" he said, cracking his knuckles.

  
"Wait!" The raven haired beauty exclaimed, her hands raising. "it's not what you think. I'm not here to hurt anyone! I don't want to be hurtful or bother anyone I just wanted to have people listen!"

  
His fists faltered, and he hesitated at her words. "then what are you here for?" He asked.

  
"Artorius. He's not as innocent as you think " she said.

  
"And how do you know that?" Eizen asked, pulling back. 

  
"Because he's the one who murdered me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, please leave Kudos and comments!


	3. Shepherd of Calamity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eizen and Zaveid learn the truth behind the holy implants, as well as behind Velvet's death. They try to lay her to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!!

Zaveid's eyebrows shot up, and he took a step back from the lady ghost. 

"Come again, Miss Ghost?" Zaveid said, urging his boyfriend away from the spirit. 

"Artorius Collebrande is the one who killed me." She responded, putting her hands on her hips. The raven haired spirit must have had a reason to speak out against the Shepherd. "He was trying to make me into a Daemon, and I died during the process." 

"Daemonization is illegal." Eizen interjected. 

"I'm sorry... What's Daemonization?" Laphicet asked the two. His twin rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Daemonization is when you implant parts of a deceased Esper into a human who isn't compatible with Mana. It used to be common for those in the church to make Daemons out of believers who wanted to be closer to the Gods. However, most people died during the process, or shortly afterwards." Inominat answered. "But why would brother make Velvet into a Daemon?"

"He was trying to experiment, and see if there was a way to make anyone compatible with Mana through daemonization so he could get his own holy implants." Velvet responded. "Because he didn't want to use himself, he experimented on me and our older sister, Celica." 

"Wait, wait wait" Zaveid interjected. "You're telling me the reason Artorius can't get holy implants is because he's not compatible with Mana technology?" 

"Exactly. But I went berserk, and I lost all sense of reason. I died as a violent monster, by the hands of Artorius. But not before..." Velvet trailed off, her eyes watering. 

"Before?" 

"Not before I killed Celica in one of my fits of rage. I didn't mean to, I just wanted to be left alone. It hurt so bad" Velvet spoke, her voice wavering. She held out her hand, which was significantly larger and longer than it should have been. The fingers had become distorted into massive claws, and her skin was red and black. 

"Celica? You mean the wife of Artorius that was murdered by a Daemon gone mad?" Zaveid asked. "Oh I get it" He put his hand on his chin and smirked. "Big brother has been using his siblings for experimentation, and when one got out of hand, he covered it up by claiming it was a rogue daemon. Man, what a dick!" 

"Watch your language! There are children present" Eizen exclaimed.

"Oh come on, babe. You have a dirtier mouth than I do." Zaveid smirked as he watched his boyfriend' face turn bright red. "Any way, so why are you still around?"

"I just want justice for me, and for Celica. She didn't deserve to die, and I didn't deserve being an experiment. It's easy. I want Artorius dead." Velvet answered after a moment of deliberation. Both Esper's eyebrows perked up, and Eizen shook his head.

"No matter how awful things are, we can't just up and kill Artorius. The whole world would call for our heads. But, if we have proof he's the one doing it..." Eizen said, trailing off.

"We could have the justice system take him out! After all, not even the all powerful Shepherd can escape justice." Zaveid finished. "But we'd need solid proof."

"What about Silva?" Inominat asked.

"Who?" Eizen and Zaveid asked at the same time.

"He's our brother's latest experiment. He's an Esper, but he's got the implants of another Esper in him too, to make him stronger." Inominat asked. The room turned to him, and stared at him in shock. "What? Sometimes, he lets me sit in and watch. He says as the future saviour of the world, I should be privy to the things going on."

"Cocky, isn't he?" Velvet said, disdain dripping from her voice. "He's always been that way. He's disgusting..." 

"Anyone who experiments on children deserves your ire. You've given us plenty to think about, Miss Daemon. For now, we'll play along like we're exorcising you, and we'll think up a plan." Zaveid said. "Boys, think you could help us?"

"Me? You want me to help? Really?!" Maotelus exclaimed. His brother smacked him on the head. 

"Of course they want you to help, dummy!"

~ 

"So, what do you think?" Eizen asked, in the comfort of their own private quarters. 

"I think you've been wearing that damn jacket for too long and you're trying to kill me with lack of love." Zaveid said, lounging on their bed in just his pants, exposing the wind themed tattoos to the world, and to his boyfriend's eye. 

"I mean about the case, idiot." Eizen responded, his cheeks turning cherry red. He turned away, sighing. "Not everyone is a nudist like you, Zav." 

"Aww baby you wound me!" Zaveid exclaimed, his hand over his chest, pretending like he'd been shot. "Wind beings like myself prefer to be free and clothing only restricts everything!" 

"Yeah, you just like bragging!" Eizen exclaimed, playfully jumping on the bed, and moving to pin Zaveid down. "There's still a few hours till dinner. What say we have some fun, huh?" 

"We do need to make it look like we had a hard fight against the lady. That means bruises." Zaveid said with a grin. 

~

A few hours later, they sat down for dinner. It was just them, and the boys. Artorius was nowhere to be found. Probably in the lab, Inominat explained. That's where the big brother spent most of his days. Either in the lab, or in the church. No wonder the kids felt neglected, Eizen though to himself as they ate and discussed nothing in particular. They were both covered in bruises, which neither the kids, nor the staff seemed to notice, or if they did, they didn't comment on it. Partway through dinner, they noticed one of the servants hadn't stopped staring at them. He was tall for a human, with tanned skin and long black hair, with part styled in front of his left eye. He waited until the kids were gone from the table before he approached the two of them.

"You must be the new babysitters. Nice to meet ya, my name is Rokurou. I'm the head chef." The man said, leaning against the table. He walked away, though left where his hand was, there was a small piece of paper. Eizen picked it up and read it.

_"I know what you are. And I know you're not here as a babysitter. Meet me in the garden, tonight at midnight. Be careful, they're watching." _The note read. He shared it with Zaveid.

~

At midnight, both Zaveid and Eizen made their way into the garden. In case it was an ambush, they carried their weapons. Zaveid had his pendulum already wrapped around his wrist, and Seigfried tucked into the waistband of his pants. And, despite his usual complaining, he wore his shirt, to hide both weapons. Eizen had his gloves and bracelets on, and they were both prepared for the worst.

"Alright. We're here. Come out." Eizen said. He heard rustling in the bush and turned, just in time to dodge two daggers flying by. With ease, Zaveid knocked them out of the air. 

"Leave Velvet alone!" Came the exclamation, before the cook from earlier came dashing through. He had two other daggers ready, and struck a fighting position. 

"Whoa, whoa, hold up. We're not here to hurt her." Eizen said. 

"Yeah right, I know you were paid off to get rid of her!" Rokurou exclaimed. 

"He's not listening to words! We'll have to use our fists." Zaveid said, before he used wind mana to manipulate the pendulum around his wrist, operating it like a whip, striking out to lash across Rokurou's cheek. 

"Hey, calm down!" Eizen said, taking a step back. He struck out, left right, aiming for Rokurou's chest, before the man dodged and rammed his blade towards Eizen's throat.

"Not so fast pretty boy!" Zaveid said, flicking his wrist and wrapping the pendulum around Rokurou's wrist, stopping his blade before it cut his boyfriend's throat. Eizen reached out and grabbed Rokurou's other hand and disarmed him, before twisting their bodies to push Rokurou to the ground, pinning his arm to the small of his back.

"Will you listen to us? We're not trying to exorcise Velvet. We're trying to help!" Eizen growled through his teeth.

"Bullshit. Artorius hired you!" Rokurou hissed, before his left eye revealed itself with a blast of wind, showing the blackened scelera and glowing red iris. That was enough to make Eizen hesitate, and all Rokurou needed, before what looked like black flame poured from his eye. He jerked his body upwards, his head slamming into Eizen's chin. As soon as the Earth Esper loosened his grip, the man broke free and rolled away, grabbing his daggers. "Form 0: Sunder!" He claimed, before dashing forward, and ramming both blades into Eizen's side. 

"ENOUGH" Came the deep female voice from behind them. Between Zaveid and Rokurou, Velvet materialized. "Roku, stop it, they're really not here to hurt me!"

"Vel?" Rokurou asked. "are you sure about that?" He turned to approach the woman spirit, while Zaveid went to Eizen, and supported his weight as the larger man's body collapsed. 

"Vel? Roku?" Zaveid asked, staring at his boyfriend before a huge grin broke out on his face. "Oh I get it! You two are a thing."

"Look, this is great. But I'm bleeding. And I'd prefer to be patched up before we continued." Eizen interjected. "We can do this in our room. I've already checked the entire place out for wiretapping and hidden cameras, so we can talk freely." 

"Yeah, okay. Sorry about that." Rokurou said, rubbing the back of his head.

~

Back in the <strike>ghostbuster</strike> rooms of Eizen and Zaveid, Eizen sat down on one of the chairs, his shirt and coat discarded so his lover could heal him. Zaveid stood behind Eizen, and his hands roamed his boyfriend's chest, in places where he wasn't hurt, while he worked his magic, both of their tattoo sets glowing.

"So, why does it do that?" Rokurou asked. "Your tattoos, why are they glowing?" 

"It's the nanotechnology within us. We're born with these markings on our skin, to symbolize that the Mana within us is fully functional. It's how people know we're Espers." Eizen answered. "Wind espers tend to have more abstract markings, like whisps of wind. Earth espers have more geometric shapes, such as the more square like markings on me. Fire espers have wild markings, and Water espers have more curved and circular markings. They glow when we actively use mana, and when we're connected, they glow brighter. The less opaque the marking, the more mana a body has. Daemons are a little bit different. Because they're not born with the nano machines used to make mana, usually the flesh decays where the implants are. However,"

"Part of mana is immortality. So the flesh becomes corrupted, and heals just enough to keep the decay from entirely rotting out the flesh," Rokurou finished.

"Indeed, hence the reddish black coloring. So who turned you into a daemon?" Eizen inquired as he lift Zaveid's hands from descending lower on his stomach. 

"Who do you think? Same guy that made Vel a daemon." Rokurou responded. "I didn't take her untimely demise so well, and I attacked. Artorius has never approved of our relationship, not just because I'm older, but also because I'm not exactly a high class guy. I'm part of the Rangetsu clan, sure, but I was disowned after my failed mission."

"I see. Forbidden love, how sweet." Zaveid said, grunting in dissatisfaction as Eizen moved his hands from his nipples. 

"So, is anyone else going to mention that Velvet isn't actually dead?" Eizen said. Everyone else's eyes widened and even Zaveid looked surprised. "Her form is far too corporeal to be a departed spirit. I assume she is well hidden, but she's not dead. She's probably comatose."

"If that's true, then why keep her alive?" Rokurou asked. 

"It makes sense. I was too compatible with the mana technology. Even with the corruption of my skin, my hand sometimes healed entirely before it began to decay again. He must have made a breakthrough." Velvet said, rubbing her chin. She gasped then "Artorius is waiting for me to become completely compatible with the mana technology, until my skin doesn't decay anymore. Then he must be planning on extracting the nano machines from my body and implanting them into his own. It's the only thing that makes sense!" 

"But why? Why go through all of this? Doesn't he know that Velvet will actually die if he goes through with this?" Rokurou asked. 

"Because the young master is dying." Came a voice from the doorway. The door had been previously shut, but was now opened, the reveal the head maid, Eleanoir. "I'm not here to fight. I know what you're doing, and you're running out of time. We need to move, tomorrow, to help miss Velvet, or she'll die. He knows that she'll die entirely, and that's why he hired you two. Exorcise her soul, which separated from her when she entered her coma. Get rid of her soul now, and her body will die anyways. Might as well harvest. That's his thinking, at least.

"How did you know about this?" Eizen asked.

"I saw Rokurou pass you the note, and I tailed you two. I've been doing my own investigating since Master Artorius hired you two. Considering he hates Espers, I was suspicious." She answered. "I know where he's keeping her- you. I can take you there." 

~

Eizen and Zaveid planned, the entire morning. That night was the Holy Sermon, and Artorius would be occupied from after supper until well after midnight, praying to the gods to bring good fortune to their lives. The lab would be left largely unoccupied, as most of the workers were religious fanatics. As they were packing for the night, Rokurou burst into their room.

"Guys, we have a problem! Artorius isn't in the church, and the boys have disappeared. Eleanoir is missing as well." He said, panting. Velvet appeared in their room.

"You guys! He has them in the lab! Eleanoir is waiting in the library. He's going to use Inominat as the bridge between me and him, and get implanted before the ceremony."

"Then we have no time to lose! Lets go!" Zaveid said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked this, drop a kudos and a comment please! Feedback is always welcome.


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